Feminism 2.0: Has Technology Changed The Big Picture
Meg Palmer
Draft Date: June 11th, 2015
The fight that women have been faced with for more than a hundred years
to prove that they are not just meant to be barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen
while watching the kids and cooking dinner has been around since America
was founded and can still be felt in this modern day technology driven world.
The recognition that change and progression for not only acceptance in the
modern day working world is change that has to begin with leadership,
innovative ideas and and understanding that feminism isn’t about women
taking over the world, but rather enhancing and gaping a need that some never
realized was needed. This paper will explore how technology has broken down
barriers, connected women across the world together giving them a stronger voice and audience than before; along with the tools to build skills, enhance
education and drive the goals of the feminism movement forward.
Since the day Abigail Adams wrote her husband, John Adams, a letter on March 31st, 1776 not only urging him but also warning him and all the founding members of the Continental Congress not to forget about the nation’s women as they lead the fight for change and independence as a new country from Great Britain, the Feminist movement has been a constant part of America’s history. However, the Feminist 2.0 movement really is the new wave of women fighting for their place in a technology drive world, and their rise to leadership and success.
I chose to talk about this topic because I know the history of America and the advancements that women have made. Elizabeth Blackwell becoming the first graduate from medical school in 1849, Nancy Pelosi being the first woman sworn in as the speaker of the House in 2007 and most recently Angela Ahrendt becoming the highest paying CEO in the US announced in 2014 when she began working with Apple. But, beyond that, technology breaks down those borders, makes the world a smaller place and allows for more opportunity globally and I wanted to see and understand where we are in the fight as I am a woman in technology looking to make a name for myself.
There were many surprising findings that came out of my research but it all began with me understanding how and why over the past 25 years the world has watched the feminist movement enter a new era. This has been made possible through the emergence of the internet and social media. We are finding that barriers that hinder equality for women and girls globally are still present, however, they are becoming more and more manageable to break down and show that the barriers were not just hindering global progression but also success for a field that has found success once women were brought into the core of helping a business plan, innovate or communicate with clients; all aspects of a business that drive profits, advancement and overall success.
There is no question when looking at where America has come from in terms of the Feminist Movement that there has been great success; however, since we live in a technology driven global economy the picture gets bigger and a little bleeker. In 1979 the United Nations adopted ‘The Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women’ (CEDAW) that promises to end discrimination, establish equality and fight against violence directed at women; but since the introduction only seven countries that are apart of the United Nations have refused to sign this bill. Iran, Palau, Somalia, South Sudan, Tonga and the US make up those seven countries. This is where I had to take a step back while researching this issue because for thinking that we, America, were a global leader in women's rights I had to pause and really try to understand how we were on a list of seven countries that seemed so different at the core than the country I lived and worked in.
To dive further America is at the lower end of many other areas globally that could be viewed as shocking. Globally 188 countries not only offer but actually guarantee mothers of newborns paid leave while nine countries do not; including the US. Out of 142 countries evaluated the US ranks 65th in wage equality for women, Thailand and Malaysia take the lead in this category as they are large global technology leaders. Finally, out of 190 countries the US ranks 72nd when considering how many women are in a leadership/governmental position, a position that has the US below Uganda, Algeria, Afghanistan, Iraq, China, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. How am I a working women in a country that in both a business and governmental setting ranks me lower in terms of representation than countries that for centuries have stripped women of their dignity and being in general?
So knowing what I know now from my research the question of ‘Why is change hard?’ came to mind. Why can’t we, the US, as a country wrap our heads around not only the idea but also looking at the possible benefits of having a women in a leadership role, or just being viewed as equal. I found through my research that there were key findings that keep the ‘Glass Ceiling” very much a part of our culture. Ann Morrison puts the problem in perspective by stating that “the glass ceiling is a barrier so subtle that it is transparent, yet so strong that it prevents women from moving up the corporate hierarchy,” while going further by saying that the glass ceiling “is not simply a barrier for an individual, based on the person’s inability to handle a higher-level job. Rather, the glass ceiling applies to women as a group who are kept from advancing higher because they are women,” (Morrison, 1994).
So what are the reasons that limit the change? There are many factors beginning with the misconception that Job Segregation isn’t relevant in today's business environments. However, when evaluating the job market overall, there is still a segregation by sex which offer little opportunity of getting to the top. Looking at the top executive women in the US it is evident that HR, communications, Social Media and marketing is where most of them lead; very few are in a operating executive position such as financing or operations. Another factor that can limit change is that in corporate America the ‘Old Boys’ club is still very much a thing; creating a barrier for women to break though because there are a ‘bunch of old gus sitting together around a table drinking Scotch and smoking Cubans,’ leading to business decisions being made and no desire to include a women in their ‘Boys Club’. Finally, there are two issues that tend to go hand and hand together. The fact that Sexual Harassment while different than it used to be is still present and widespread and enforcement of Anti-Discrimination Laws are not taken seriously. While discussions, increasing controversies and case laws for both issues have made ground to protect and empower women; both issues are still very much in a ‘hush hush’ mentality because many women do not believe that speaking out and fighting back will help them; but rather put their careers in jeopardy.
All of the outlined barriers above are things that could be easily changed, if and only if you have leaders who believe that both men and women can make an organization more successful, and that there will be no room for harassment, discrimination and/or any other derogatory action will be accepted, and will be met with diligence to find the truth, pushish when needed and move their organization into a better and more successful place. However, the biggest obstacle standing in the way of a plan that seems so easy, would be the obstacle of trying to change how people think; which are values and mentalities that are instiled in a person from birth from their parents, schooling, community views and the collection of experiences they experience in their lives; which is hard to erase and remold even if it is for the better of the organization.
Knowing the big picture of the issue, and knowing where women are looking to go and what they want to conquer, the next step is identifying how can technology help women advance? While at the same time, how can technology hinder the advancement?
By looking at what can hinder advancement first women can save themselves from being a cautionary tale of what not to do. Somethings to constantly remember would include think before you speak, remember logical and thoughtful responses are better than emotional responses and lead by example. While the world feels like a big big place, once you get on the internet, Twitter, Facebook or any other type of global media you are sending your voice out there good or bad for the world to hear; and taking back your words are harder than expected. Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo, learned this the hard when she banned remote work for her employees due to the want for more in person collaboration and creativity; only to lose the trust of all her female employees and admirers when an email leaked communicating that she thought working mothers were taking advantage of the ‘work from home’ opportunity and she wasn’t paying them to be a mother; when in fact Mayer herself had just months before remodeled her office to include a nursery and nanny quarters for her own children; an opportunity only available to her.
So, how can technology help the advancement? The opportunities are endless and countless. First, technology allows for geo-locations and boundaries to be broken down allowing connection with larger audiences; giving women a larger voice and leading to more connections being made. Women can go out there and find more educational opportunities through open source classes, Coursera, and free skill building tools. By going out and educating yourself further, showing success through production, and working well in a team preconceived notions about women in the workplace, specifically a technology driven setting, and change how women are viewed. It is all about being self driven and motivated; not relying on anyone else around you to reach the success that you want.
So as a business leader or owner where do you begin to change and grow the organizational environment you are cultivating? First understand that IT environments are not true meritocracies and that women do still experience different challenges and experiences that men do in the workplace; and strive to close the gap to even the playing field. Secondly, understand that while you want to have an equal opportunity environment that is driven by technical skills and productivity for advancement and diversity/equality are not not important. It is a lovely thought, it is a great goal and most importantly it is something that should be a possibility but it takes continual work, constant evaluation of your business and have the right leaders at the helm. Finally, leaders and business owners need to understand that the lack of women in not just a pipeline problem; it is an overall problem that can only be solved from the top down. Corporate environments are the epitome of do as your leader does rather than doing what you know is right types of environments; so how can change be made, cultivated or enforced if those leading the masses consider it a joke. Tapscott goes further to remind us that “The digital economy requires a new kind of businessperson; one who has the curiosity and confidence to let go of old mental models and old paradigms; one who tempers the needs for business growth and profit with the requirements of employees, customers, and society for privacy, fairness, and a share in the wealth he or she creates; one who has the vision to think socially, the courage to act, and the strength to lead in the face of coolness or even ridicule,” (Tapscott, 20014, pg 296).
Now consider that change has been made, what advantages and gains could and would be scene? The possibilities are endless, especially in the areas that involve innovation and creative thinking. There is no secret that men and women prioritize things differently, and because of that creative innovation and the possibilities of what products and ideas could be unlocked are endless. UNICEF’s innovation unit experienced this when Erica Kochi when she worked with partners to develop open source technologies that registered more than 7 million Nigerian births in its first 15 months out there, along with taking those technologies one step further to track the distribution of more than 25 million insecticide treated mosquito nets. The technologies not only allowed for the tracking of, but also the direct and immediate feedback directly to the government allowing the change of policies in real time; a need that was always there but never recognized or tackled before Erica Kochi joined the innovation group. That is just one example that by taking a woman's perspective from an innovative point of view the huge impact that can come; but imagine possibilities worldwide of we just focused on innovation, progression and technological advancements versus gender. Tapscott might have said it best when he stated in the Digital Economy that “The power of networking would redefine collaboration and leadership, expanding both humanity’s productivity and its potential,” (Tapscott, 2014, pg 191). He made a profound statement about the power of technology and how it will drive the future, and did so without the consideration of men vs. women; because at the end of the day collaboration and leadership doesn’t care about race, gender or any other category you could put someone in.
In Feminism Confronts Technology, Wajcman points out that “The more recent work on gender and technology goes beyond looking at women workers and such. Rather it has taken up the issue of divisions between workers and focused on the relationship between men and women in the workplace, the implications for the construction of jobs and the sex-typing of occupations,” (Wajcman, 1991, pg. 33). What she says there speaks to not only exactly how I feel about this subject but also about what I have learned through this experience. I personally work for a company that is based out of Texas and have to fight the “Little Lady” mentalities that come out by nature, and I always have to brush that off and show the people I work with and the clients that hire me that any pre-judgement that they might have about me is continually blown out of the water by the work that I produce, the education and experience that I bring to any situation and the innovation I bring to creating solutions that meet and exceed expectations put forth for me.
I think in closing It is important to remember that despite an overall underrepresentation of women in technology, it is because of women in technology that key advancements in not only software development has occurred, but more recently those advancements have been found in mobile innovation; but women driven advancements could span into almost every field of technology if given the opportunity. The evolution of the feminist movement in this technology driven world can only be possible to move forward and see the continual growth of female executives, and through leaders who can not only recognize the importance but also value the importance of technology in relation to the fight for equality; because through empowering women through technological innovation it can now be seen that this movement for women spans worldwide, reaches countries and communities never considered to be apart of a movement before, and improve opportunities for women worldwide.
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